Beautifully crafted, all facets of it played with care and skill. Funny story too, because I never realised it had all the little guitar in the verses until I played on Rock Band, lol.

John's voice sounds great, the bass is awesome, the drums ( ok, some books say that Paul played drums on it as Ringo was still away fed up; I think we've discussed this on another thread but I think it doesn't sound like Paul's drum style at all. Compare it with 'The Ballad of Ohn and Yoko', for instance) I dunno, maybe TK can give us more info. I used to have the Mark Lewisohn book years ago, but loaned it out and never got it back!

nimrod

Dear Prudence, won't you come out to playDear Prudence, greet the brand new dayThe sun is up, the sky is blueIt's beautiful and so are youDear Prudence won't you come out to play

Dear Prudence open up your eyesDear Prudence see the sunny skiesThe wind is low the birds will singThat you are part of everythingDear Prudence won't you open up your eyes?

Look around round roundLook around round roundOh look around

Dear Prudence let me see you smileDear Prudence like a little childThe clouds will be a daisy chainSo let me see you smile againDear Prudence won't you let me see you smile?

Dear Prudence, won't you come out to playDear Prudence, greet the brand new dayThe sun is up, the sky is blueIt's beautiful and so are youDear Prudence won't you come out to play

The subject of the song is Prudence Farrow, actress Mia Farrow's sister, who was present when the Beatles went to India to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.Farrow became so serious about her meditation that she "turned into a near recluse" and "rarely came out" of the cottage she was living in. John Lennon was asked to "contact her and make sure she came out more often to socialize". As a result, Lennon wrote the song "Dear Prudence". In the song Lennon asks Farrow to "open up your eyes" and "see the sunny skies" reminding her that she is "part of everything". The song was said to be "a simple plea to a friend to 'snap out of it'".Lennon said later that "She'd been locked in for three weeks and was trying to reach God quicker than anyone else".According to Farrow: "I would always rush straight back to my room after lectures and meals so I could meditate. John, George and Paul would all want to sit around jamming and having a good time and I'd be flying into my room. They were all serious about what they were doing, but they just weren't as fanatical as me".Lennon did play the song for Farrow while they were in India together. According to Farrow, "I was flattered. It was a beautiful thing to have done". The lyrics of the song are simple and innocent and praise the beauty of nature in the lines: "The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful, and so are you".They recorded the song at Trident Studios in London on 28, 29 and 30 August 1968. Utilising state of the art eight-track recording equipment, the basic track included finger picking guitar performed by John Lennon as well as George Harrison on the lead guitar, plus Paul McCartney playing the drums in place of Ringo Starr, who had temporarily left the Beatles. The next day, McCartney performed and recorded the bass track and Lennon recorded additional layers to his vocals. Handclapping, tambourine and cowbell were then added by McCartney and Harrison. On the last day of the recording session, piano and flügelhorn tracks were recorded by McCartney.The complete list of recording session personnel included:

In the Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn notes that the end of the song originally featured applause from those who contributed backing vocals and handclaps, though it was left out of the final mix.

It's one of my favorite songs on the double LP. John's voice was at its peak. Paul's bass was the perfect accompaniment. In 1969, I was seeing a girl named Nancy. She had a younger sister named Prudence who would love it when I played this song for her on guitar.

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I can stay till it's time to go

nimrod

looking at those pics Baz, I bet the people on them would just love to go back to those days, wonder how the very working class hairdresser Maureen got on living with the very middle class and well educated Jane

Top two or three Beatle tunes for me ever. Love it. John is just too smooth as usual and the guitar is nice and crisp. Bass sounds awesome and I love the drumming and piano. I've never read anywhere that hasent stated that Paul was the drumer, but I admit, it sure does sound like Ringo. It has his style written all over it, but it was Paul. I never tire of the song and shush everybody in the room when it comes on.

Might be my favorite beatles song. I think this is one of Johns timless songs with great imagery and compassion.When I listen to it I hear 4 ( maybe 5) guitar parts which is one of my favorite things to do, seperate Beatles guitar parts (or try). The two intro guitar parts where John does his Donavan inspired riff throughout the song and behind that is George doing an electric rythm. This goes on through the whole song. At 1:50, George comes in with a short lead riff which opens up the song to it's gradually intensifying cresendo. At 2;15 Georges lead starts a bit quietly and builds with each verse until it's magnificent last verse (this is a similar lead method George used in Dr. Robert, as his lead starts rather small but by the 3rd verse it becomes a very intense lead that dominates the song). When The lead starts I think I hear an over dub of an second guitar matching at lower tone right behind the main notes . This is why I say maybe 5 guitar parts. At the same time Georges lead starts, John (I believe) John comes in with a single grinding chord that is repeated through out till the end of the song where the song reverts to the same 2 guitars in the intro until it fades.I think this may be the best guitar work of all time. It is truly "crafted and I never get tired of hearing this one!Let me know what you think!

« Last Edit: January 09, 2013, 02:38:49 PM by Dcazz »

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Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or imbeciles who really mean it! Mark Twain

Easily my very favorite song from the White Album and has always been a Top 10 (and maybe a Top 5) for me. A beautiful touch of sweetness, something hard to find in John's catalog. Paul's drumming is amazing, maybe that's why John said that Ringo wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles (though I don't agree).